Nevada’s rate of foreclosures led the nation in March, with Washoe County reporting the third highest rate of foreclosures in the state, according to a national report released today. It is the 15th straight month that Nevada’s foreclosure rate was No. 1 in the U.S. Nevada had a foreclosure rate of 1 in 139 households, 3.9 times the national average. The rate is a 24 percent jump from last month and nearly 62 percent higher than the foreclosure rate in March 2007. The numbers were released by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosure data nationwide.
Clark County led the state again with foreclosure filings on 6,783 properties, a rate of 1 in 111 households. Churchill County had the second highest foreclosure rate of 1 in 259 households. Next was Washoe County with a rate of 1 in 277 households.Clark County sharply skews the state numbers, said Wayne Capurro, president of the Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors.”The rate is still high in Washoe County, so I don’t want to minimize that,” Capurro said. “But Nevada wouldn’t be ranked number one in foreclosures if it weren’t for Clark County.”Washoe County has the same foreclosure rate as the state of Georgia, which is sixth in the nation. Washoe also had 630 total properties with foreclosure filings in March, up 31 percent from 480 in February and up 61 percent from 392 in March 2007. Capurro blamed foreclosures entering the market and boosting supply as the main reason the area has yet to start a recovery.In the Reno-Sparks area, there were 4,197 homes on the market as of Monday, said Ken Wiseman, broker-owner of Reno Rancho Realty. With 74 homes sold so far this April, it will take some time to whittle down the area’s housing inventory, Wiseman said.”Supply is the telltale sign,” Wiseman said. “Unless we see some sort of change, I just don’t see things turning around within the next three months.”One positive sign is that the number of homes in the Reno-Sparks market has dropped from an 18-month supply to a 14-month supply, Capurro said. That is still twice as high as the typical six-month supply in a normal market but is a step in the right direction, Capurro said.Capurro and Wiseman agreed that home prices should stabilize within six months. Price slashing by banks desperate to clear foreclosed properties from their books has significantly lowered median home prices. But financial institutions can only lower prices for so long, Wiseman said.”If banks drop prices by 5 percent each month, then you’ll theoretically reach a price of zero at one point,” Wiseman said. “Well, banks just can’t give these houses away, especially now that you’re seeing homes priced at $180,000. We’re going to hit bottom here eventually, which we’re already getting down to at the lower end of the market.”For buyers priced out of the market during the peak of the housing boom, the housing downturn means homes have become affordable again, Wiseman said. Although it may take five years before home prices reach the peak seen during the housing boom, prices will likely start seeing an uptick later this year, Capurro said. That makes the next six months the perfect buying opportunity for people looking into a new home.”We have a long way to go from a 14-month supply to a six-month supply of homes,” Capurro said. “But that’s why the best buying opportunities are going to take place in the next six months. It’s a tragedy for people losing their homes. But it also makes it a very strong buyers’ market.”Reno Gazette-JournalBy Jason Hidalgo • jhidalgo@rgj.com • April 15, 2008